When media reported on sanitation worker’s body being found, the search team that had spent hours in dirty waters was undergoing health check
Published Jul 18, 2024 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 18, 2024 | 11:06 AM
Fire and rescue officials attempting to rescue Joy. (Supplied)
A stone’s throw away from the spiralling structure that the Brick Master of Kerala, Laurie Backer, had designed and constructed, the stench of methane wrapped in a nauseating sudden warmth hits the passerby at Thampanoor, Thiruvananthapuram’s prominent transit point.
The whir of mosquitoes is hard to miss — day or night — announcing the presence of a canal, putrid and mostly stagnant, pregnant with the garbage the citizens’ discard with scant regard for the environment or their health.
Slush has accumulated deep in the canal, filling up beneath the culvert that takes the canal under the Trivandrum Central Station and further west to the Amayizhanjan thodu, or canal, equally stagnant on the other side of the railway station. Discarded plastic forms a deadly snare for anyone who dares to enter the canal.
Heavy rains that pummeled Kerala’s capital city on 13 July made the water flow. Around 6 am that day, Joy, 47, had left his house at Marayamuttam, promising his mother Melhi to return by evening.
Joy was in the canal with two other contract labourers when the flow increased. Even as his colleagues waded to safety, Joy got stuck and was sucked away by the current.
Soon after he had gone missing, authorities launched a massive operation, initially to rescue the man, and later, to find at least his body.
The Fire and Rescue Department personnel were among the first responders at the scene. The men entered the canal that most would avoid. They inched their way through, racing against time, hoping to find the missing man.
Joy, who was found dead 46 hours after he had gone missing,
The media was out in strength, telecasting each moment, with voice-overs vying to provide an edge-of-the-seat experience, even as Kerala collectively hoped to reunite Joy with Melhi.
The rescue team bothered little about the hullaballoo. “They meticulously planned every move, knowing that they were risking their lives. Though they have safety gears, they did not help them all the time,” City Corporation Councillor P Rajendran Nair representing Sreekanteswaram ward, told South First.
Nair said the search party was also equally emotionally affected like Joy’s family. “I witnessed their struggle and their job was so tougher than we think,” he said.
“The teams from the Navy and the National Disaster Response Force have also contributed to the rescue mission. After the family members of the affected, it is the rescue personnel who are most impacted, enduring significant physical and emotional challenges”, he added.
Commander Atul Pillai, the Defence Public Relations Officer in Kochi, refused to comment on the Navy’s role. He, however, lauded the scuba divers of the Fire and Rescue Department for the crucial role they had played.
The rescuers searching for Joy. (Supplied)
“Five scuba divers were initially deployed for the Amayizhanchan canal rescue operation. Later, when as the situation worsened, we brought in 21 more personnel, including those from Kollam and Ernakulam,” Assistant Station Officer KB Subhash, head of the scuba diving team under the Thampanoor Fire and Rescue Force, told South First.
Subhash said the task was daunting for the divers. “Scuba diving is usually done in open waters like seas, lakes, streams, and rivers. But Amayizhanjan is a canal. It is the first time that experienced men have dived into a canal. There were a lot of challenges,” he said.
The canal was filled with the dirt from the capital city, including human waste. The water was heavily contaminated. It, however, did not deter the professionals.
“Unlike in a river, pond, or quarry, when we dive into a canal, we are not aware of the challenges. So, we have decided to do more research and practise in canal diving. Currently, we are using wetsuits in our operations, which absorb water and help maintain body temperature,” he said, adding they were not enough.
“After this recent canal operation, we realised the need for drysuits, which would provide more comfort and protection. We plan to request them from the department,” Subhash said.
Joy’s body was found on Monday, 15 July, 46 hours after he was swept away. A team of Navy divers was to join the search when his decomposing body was found lying face down about 2 km from where he had gone missing.
Even as the media reported the finding of the body, the search team that had spent hours in Thiruvananthapuram’s dirtiest waters were undergoing medical checkup.
“Soon after the mission, we immediately rushed to a dermatologist. Later, we had a consultation with an ENT specialist,” Subhash explained what had happened far from the media glare.
“It is important to consult an ENT specialist because face masks cover only the face, while other parts like the ears are exposed to the contaminated water and garbage,” he said.
The officer said all members underwent a full body checkup, Subash said the symptoms might not appear immediately. “Although we took tablets, other checkups like blood tests are still pending. Our department insisted that we get a blood test after a week,” the officer said.
The group of rescuers. (Supplied)
The Amayizhanchan operation received much media attention, but other rescue efforts seldom get such a focus.
‘’Only a few rescue operations get media attention but every day, we receive calls, some of them heart-wrenching, especially when it involves children. When we dive into rivers searching for a child, we often remember about our children, which deeply affects us,” he said.
Despite the emotional toll, they recognise it as part of their duty. “However, there are times when even having food becomes challenging as tragic scenes keeps flashing back in our minds,” Subhash said.
The media attention the Amayizhanchan operation received made Kerala realise that not all superheroes wear capes: some wear wetsuits.
The operation might gather dust in people’s memory before long. But the heroes will soldier on, silently and without complaints. Still Subhash hoped that the government would design exclusive welfare policies for rescue workers besides Medisep, the state government’s insurance policy for its employees, past and present.
(Edited by Majnu Babu)
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